Breaking Out of Comfort Zones
We all like to stay cocooned inside of our comfort zones. Do you know why?
It’sIt’s because we are mostly petrified of the unknown.
The fear of the unknown deters us from taking the leap of faith and expanding our horizons. It prevents us from taking risks, from exploring uncharted territories, and prevents us from growing big.
But, success happens outside of your comfort zone.
Our comfort areas make us feel warm and accepted.
But the unknown challenges and threatens us and pushes us to the verge of uncertainty.
However, entrepreneurs find thrill in the face of uncertainty. They feel more alive in the face of fear and more confident when confronted with challenges.
That’s how they win each battle and grow. For them, the sky’s the limit, and every zone becomes their comfort area.
Keep breaking your comfort zone, and expanding your limits changes your perspective of life with time.
Believe it or not, it is a true sign of leadership.
A true leader is the shining light who guides others through the path of darkness to enlightenment.
He is a risk-taker. He takes risks to step out of their comfort zone and carves a path for his people to follow.
Do you think you have such qualities inside of you?
Do you think you have the power to guide others in the face of uncertainty?
Do you think you possess the courage to step out of your comfort zone and not give in to fears of the unknown?
Do you think you have all the required qualities of a leader?
Do you think you can become an entrepreneur and lead your company from the front?
If thinking is all you can do, then you should quit thinking and start trying something new.
You need to change your perspective, focus on the unknown, face your fears, overcome your failures, and keep breaking your comfort areas until you win every battle.
If you are up for that challenge, you do have all that it takes to become an entrepreneur and a successful one at that.
Well! You can start by –
#Step 1: Breaking Your Boundaries
Have you seen how a typical introvert behaves in a group?
They find ways to escape the spotlight or look out for walls to hide safely behind. They feel that if they can hide their faces from the world, they are safe.
That’s not a healthy practice. This is because an introvert will never know the real fun in facing the world boldly. He/she will never win because introverts are happy to just live within their safe haven.
But, do you know what? They will always remain average throughout.
If you are okay with being an average person, you can skip the rest of the article. If not, then the first step we ask you to take is to break those walls around you.
Be bold enough to pick up the hammer and start breaking every brick. And, with each brick down, you are one step closer to winning your way to success.
In simple words, you are taking a step towards exploring the uncharted waters that your fears prevented you from treading all along. The dreams you have, which always seemed like a childhood fantasy, can change into a reality if you break the wall.
People might have warned you against following your dreams. They might have discouraged you from taking risks and undermined your capabilities all along. What you did – you saw what they were trying to show you.
You didn’t try to see what your heart wants you to see. And, over the years, all those words of discouragement built those boundaries up around you. Now, it’s up to you to decide what you want? Do you want to stay the average person you were? Do you want to stay invisible in the eyes of others? Do you want to let go of your desires for fear of failure?
Once you have the answers to these questions, you are more than ready to break those boundaries and tell others who never believed you to just ”Shut Up!”
#Step 2: Try Doing Things that made You Uncomfortable
This is your next step!
Speaking up in front of others makes you uncomfortable.
Playing the role of a leader in your team made you uncomfortable.
Putting your ideas on the table made you uncomfortable.
Shouldering the responsibility of running a team made you uncomfortable.
Instead, you always chose to stay comfortably hidden inside of those walls that you built around you. You felt comfortable following others around. You were comfortable with the fact that you were practically invisible in the eyes of your peers, colleagues, and your boss.
Are you okay continuing with the same routine? Or do you want to make a difference?
If so, then start by trying things that make you uncomfortable. Like – speaking up and getting yourself heard in the team. Take initiatives and responsibilities. Get yourself heard and make yourself visible all the time. Show others that you are a better leader. Get the spotlight on you always.
Once you start doing that, you will feel confident about yourself. You will feel energized all the time. The flow of energy running through your veins will be like an adrenaline rush.
And that rush is so addictive. Before you realize it, your perspective in life will change. From being an average someone, you will become the star of the team. And, you will not stop there.
You would want more, and you will never stop until you get more!
#Step 3: Face Your Fears Always
Have you seen people trying dangerous activities to overcome their fears?
Some adventurers try Skyfall and bungee jumping because they fear heights and want to overcome that fear.
Unless you face your fears, you will never overcome them. And that fear prevents you from trying in the first place.
For example, you have a fear of your business idea failing and you losing your savings. That fear stops you from giving your idea a shot.
But, unless you try and explore all possibilities, how will you know your business idea can take off. And, before you wake up from your fear of failure, someone else has already thought and executed your idea into a proper business plan.
You lost your idea and your chance at becoming the owner of your business.
Do you know why you failed? You failed because you wasted much time thinking about different what-ifs? Instead, you should have just given it a shot, not caring much about whether the idea will work or not.
Yes, there’s a 90% possibility that your idea might have failed. But, you still had the 10% probability window to succeed. And, that 10% is all an entrepreneur or a visionary person needs to prove to the world how a 10% chance can be converted into a 100% profitable business.
Entrepreneurship is all about taking risks and relying on chances.
Even great leaders take those chances and risks all the time. What they don’t do is never give up. They rise after every fall and keep trying until they win.
So, your fourth step should be –
#Step 4: Rise After Every Fall
As we said, the fear of failure keeps most of us from trying. The fear of failure keeps us within our comfort zones. The false sense of security is injurious to our career.
And, why do you think we all fear failure so much? We fear the judging eyes of our seniors and the taunting smiles of our peers. We fear that we will never rise back on our feet after failing.
Do you know a successful entrepreneur tastes failures multiple times before they experience success?
Rome was not built in a day.
So, you cannot expect your idea to start minting money right from the hour you implemented your call-to-action plan. Or, you cannot expect to win in whatever endeavor you are attempting for the very first time.
Yes, there are a few lucky ones out there. But not all of us are blessed with a starluck, right? Instead, all that we can do is keep trying. Even if it means we might have to fail a thousand times.
But, every time we fail, we are learning a very valuable lesson. Yes! Failures are the best teachers. They can teach you how to improve yourself for a better outcome. These failures will highlight your mistakes and pinpoint your shortcomings.
So, every time you address those mistakes and sharpen your skills, you take another step forward. By the time you get your first prize, you have already perfected your skills and mastered strategies.
#Step 5: Don’t Get Too Comfortable with Your New Role
One challenge won is not an entire game win!
You might have successfully overcome your challenges, conquer your fears, defeated your failures, and won the game. But, winning one battle doesn’t imply you will remain undefeated for the rest of your life.
That’s why it is advisable to not get too comfortable with your present success. It doesn’t take too much time for the tables to turn against you.
You don’t wish to get caught off-guard, right?
As an entrepreneur also, you should always be prepared to face any unprecedented situations. And, trust us when we say the entrepreneurial journey is nothing short of a roller coaster ride.
There will be challenges and combats to win at every step.
You cannot sit back and relax after getting your first orders successfully. You have to keep planning and plotting to keep contingency strategies ready.
If your plan A doesn’t work, you should have a plan B, C, D, and E
Always stay alert and always be courageous to try something new or something completely different from what you have been doing all along. If the industry you are targeting becomes saturated in the coming years, you should have plans ready to explore other sectors.
Otherwise, your business will disappear into oblivion.
And that’s exactly what Amazon did. Today, the company has become one of the world’s largest one-stop-shopping-destination for all.
Do not consider the mentioned five steps as the universally accepted one-size-fits-all strategy that you have to follow. It is you who can write your own success story. How you write it, again, depends entirely on you.
But, one thing you should always remember – keep breaking out of your comfort zones. Even better, never build any comfort zone for yourself. That way, you will never restrict your capabilities as an entrepreneur or as a working professional. And, the sky will be your only limit!
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